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Bookmark this idea for next Christmas. In fact, go buy the clear plastic ornament sets at a major discount at Michael’s Crafts right now, so you are ready to make these next year. That’s what I did. Even two weeks before Christmas, Michael’s had already marked down the ornament sets to 50 cents (originally $1.29). I bought a class set, so my students could make personal Mason jar toppers to take home as gifts for their families. They are fun to make, and you can fill the jars with all kinds of treats.

full body photo printed on cardstock that shows above the head and below the feet (printed ~1.75″ and then cut down)

mini trees, presents, snowmen shapes or other accessories for the scene inside the snow globe (found these at Michael’s in the snow scene section– these materials did sell out close to the holidays)

fake snow flakes (sold in bags during the holidays– a little different than glitter)

sparkly pipe cleaners

hot glue gun

Elmer’s glue

Directions

Remove the lid pieces from a Mason jar. Separate the ring from the flat lid part. Run a bead of hot glue around the flat edge of one half of the plastic ornament. Quickly and firmly, press the dome to the edges of the lid ring. The hot glue cools quickly, so you have to move fast. If you attach the ornament part off center, carefully pull it apart, remove the cooled glue and start the process over.

In small sections, run a bead of glue along the line where the plastic ornament half attached to the Mason jar ring. Press the pipe cleaner into the glue. Keep running a small bead of glue and press the pipe cleaner as you move around the edge of the ring. When you have finished the circle, let the glue cool and then snip the extra pipe cleaner length off.

If you want to personalize the snow globe topper, take a photo of a loved one that shows the full body and has space above the head and below the feet. Pet pictures would work well too. To look more authentic, have the subject look cold in the photo or hold hands up like it is snowing. We added props like scarves and Santa or elf hats when taking our photos. Print the photo on cardstock or another stiff paper. Set the height of the photo to 1.75″. You will cut around the shape of the body and may need to cut the bottom part of the legs off too. Cut around the entire figure and when it is time to attach to the jar lid, you can make adjustments to the height of the picture after testing to see if it stands straight inside the plastic dome.

Using a hot glue gun, attach the photo and scene accessories like a mini present or mini snowman foam sticker to the flat plate-like part of the Mason jar lid. Attach the objects, so they stand straight, and they should be as close to the center of the jar lid as possible. Test the height of the objects to make sure they will not get squashed down when the ring with the plastic ornament is screwed down. Cut off the the bottom of any little figures as necessary.

Drizzle Elmer’s glue all over the rest of the flat part of the lid and around the edges of the little figures in the center. This piece of the Mason jar lid has a slightly raised edge, and it makes it easy to fill the center area. Avoid the edges of the plate.

In my last post, I mentioned how I needed a crafty project to keep me busy on my spring break from school, and I started sewing petal pouches. “Crafty project” is really code for I-will-disappear-for-2-days-and-ignore-my-family-except-to-feed-them-while-I-get-lost-in-a-project.

Here is how it went down. I made two bags for a teacher appreciation gift I had in mind using materials I had on hand. Miss Priss and Mr. Star Wars wanted a bag too, so we bought some additional fabric and ribbon and made 2 of the large petal bags for them. I now had a small collection. The collection looked unfinished since I had not tried the smallest size bag possible in the pattern. I made two more bags in the mini size. Now, I had a set, but the set would be broken when I gave some of the bags away as gifts. I returned to Hobby Lobby for more material determined to make enough bags for a personal set and have some spares for gifts (and a giveaway??).

Jump to today. Petal bags cover my dining room table. I do have enough for my own set and some for gifts, so I am starting to relax a little just in time for school to start again tomorrow. These are my plans for the bags…

Teacher Appreciation Gift: School Manicure Set

clear fingernail polish (so it can be used to stop a run in your tights, fix a fraying shoelace, or other classroom emergencies)

nail clippers (great for snagged nails during the day)

tweezers (just in case someone gets a splinter)

emery board

Tween Gift: Trendy Manicure Set

fingernail polish in “ice cream” colors

nail clippers

emery board

nail art stickers

Emi-Jay-like hair ties (in the mini bag)

Baby Gift: Diaper Bag Dopp Kit

pacifier

Aquaphor

travel Q-tips

baby nail clippers

travel baby wipes

Pet Gift: Dog Treat Bag

dog treats

TheRoomDog’s best friend is on the injured list, and we haven’t been able to get the dogs together for vigorous playdates, which greatly reduce TheRoomDog’s need for other activity– like eating pencils. We are trying to deliver the get well gift before the treats are gone. (Bad dog, Birdie.)

In honor of the final swim meet of the season, Mr. Star Wars and his teammates decorated shirts after swim practice this morning. The coach brought acrylic paint and brushes, each swimmer brought an old white t-shirt, and I felt compelled to up the decorative quality of the shirts and brought materials for Sharpie tie dying.

I learned about this so cool but so easy technique 10 years ago when my oldest niece attended a summer camp near my parents’ house. My niece was 5 or 6 at the time and came home with this t-shirt that had multi-colored sunbursts all over it. Lately, I have seen samples floating around on Pinterest. The Pinterest sample I saw looks a little different than my way, but it is roughly the same procedure. The best thing about the Sharpie tie dye is the minimal mess!

The Materials

Sharpie pens, variety of colors (we used shades of green and black for our team colors)

medicine droppers (purchased at CVS)

rubbing alcohol

coins (quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies)

cardboard squares (about 8″x8″)

cup or jar

The Directions

Put the cardboard piece inside the shirt to prevent the Sharpie from leaking through to the other side. Move the cardboard around as needed, so it is always beneath the area where you are working.

Place a coin on the shirt. Draw an outline of dots with a Sharpie marker around the edge of the coin. You want the dots to be fairly close together to make the effect better. You can alternate color dots if you wish.

Remove the coin from the shirt.

Pour rubbing alcohol into a cup, so it is easy to get the alcohol into the dropper. Fill the medicine dropper about 1/3 full and begin dropping rubbing alcohol into the white center of the Sharpie dot circle.

Add drops a little at a time, always directly in the center of the Sharpie dots, until the Sharpie begins to bleed out.

Notes

Our white cotton t-shirts from Cherokee (Target line) and J. Crew worked better than the Hanes men’s cotton undershirt. There is a difference in the weave of the cotton. It was kind of interesting how the material changed the effect of the stain.

If you alternate colors, you can create new colors. For example, alternating blue and red dots creates purple. This is a great learning tool for kids about the color wheel.

The sun burst size changes depending on how close the dots are to each other, so experiment with that too.

You do not have to use the coins. Kids can create any dotted outline (like a heart or a star) and discover different results.

Unfortunately, I have not figured out a way to set the Sharpie marker well when washing. If you run the shirt in the dryer before the first wash, it helps hold the color. When you do wash the shirt, wash in cold water on gentle cycle. You may want to hang dry.